


The Magic of Christmas

by Ana (Anafandom)



Series: Tony Stark Is Not Alone [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Civil War Team Iron Man, F/M, Gen, Happy!Tony, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:21:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28319634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anafandom/pseuds/Ana
Summary: Christmas is a time for cheer, and this year Tony has a lot to be cheerful about.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: Tony Stark Is Not Alone [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1831903
Comments: 64
Kudos: 474





	The Magic of Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Christmas, everyone (or whichever holiday you celebrate)!
> 
> So on December 20th I decided to write a fluffly Christmas fic to post on Christmas day. It was supposed to be short, but, well... This happened instead.
> 
> Please forgive the typos and mistakes and the crappy formatting. Part of it was written on my phone because my wifi connection died, and posting it from the phone was quite a chore too. I'm having to hike up a hill to get a signal and it's not the best place to be doing that sort of thing. I'll fix everything as soon as I can. I might also take a while to reply to comments for this reason. Hopefully my internet will be restored soon.
> 
> Best wished to you all and let's hope 2021 will be a better year.
> 
> ETA (5/1/2021): Internet is back! Formatting and typos are fixed. :)

Christmas was usually not a happy time for Tony. For the past couple of decades, he had spent it either drunk off his head or buried in the lab ignoring it altogether. He had never had that much passion for the holiday to begin with, but losing his parents the way he had just a couple of weeks before it had made him actively dislike it.

This year, however, he wanted it to be different.

As much as that fucking video had hurt (blindsided as he’d been by all of it, by that complete and utter betrayal), it had at least done one thing: it had showed him that his father had not been at fault. He’d spent all that time being angry with the man (hating him, in a lot of ways), only to find out Howard had been a victim, had been something of an eye-opener. After he’d had time to process everything (and talk to his friends about it), he’d realized that there had been a lot about his father he didn’t know – and a lot that he had probably been manipulated into thinking and feeling. SHIELD/Hydra, Obie, the fucking press… Howard had been a shitty father, no doubt about it, but maybe he hadn’t been the shitty person Tony had always believed. There was a good chance that SHIELD/Hydra (it was pretty much the same thing, in the end) had fucked him up just like they’d tried to do to Tony, and maybe Obie had helped them. Maybe Howard had been surrounded by fucking back-stabbing leeches just like Tony, only he didn’t get the chance to get rid of that crushing weigh before the end.

Bottom line, Tony had managed to reconcile himself with his father in his head, and finally – finally – properly grieve for him (for both his parents). After pushing that pain aside for so many years, it was a relief to have some sense of closure. To know what had happened, and why, and be able to make sense of it. It would be better if he could know for certain that the people responsible had gotten what they deserved, but that was a bit trickier. Even going through the information from that idiotic dump had not been very helpful in finding out exactly who had ordered the hit – who had sent the Winter Soldier. It annoyed him that those bastards had likely gotten away with it (and practically because of Steve fucking Rogers, that fucking bastard traitor), but at least Hydra as a whole was on its last legs (not really thanks to Rogers, though, but much more to their own stupidity and the several counter terrorist agencies of the world having united to take them out).

This year, Tony wanted to actually enjoy Christmas. To let go of the past and move forward into a better future. Because whatever had happened, despite all the shit he’d been through, he had survived. 

And he was not alone. He had friends. And he had strangers on the internet from all over the world wishing him well.

Since the end of the so-called Civil War, Tony had gotten nothing but support from the world. When he was at his lowest, it had been the get well wishes of the people that had given him the kick in the ass he’d needed. He was not a failure, no matter what SHIELD and the other Avengers had tried to make him believe. He was a hero, and not just as Iron Man. He did good things for the world, and people appreciated that. It had lifted a weigh off his shoulders that he hadn’t even known he was carrying. It really had meant a lot to him that complete strangers had given him the benefit of the doubt when his own supposed friends couldn’t be bothered with anything but unfounded accusations and emotional manipulation. People believed in him, and he was determined not to let them down.

More than that, he was determined to be okay – so he could continue to try to keep the world safe – and to give back the care support he’d received.

He’d spent a lot of time in the last few months since the press conference where he’d laid it all out there for the world to see talking to people on videos. He found it to be the easiest way to get his message out there, and it was fun. It didn’t feel like talking into the void, it felt like actually having a conversation – an honest one. He’d been using the videos as his own weird form of therapy, and it was working. He definitely felt better – more motivated, more energetic, more optimistic. 

Every video got millions of views, and even more responses. He didn’t read them all, of course – there wasn’t enough time in a day for that – but Friday did and she gave him a summary every morning. Sometimes she pointed him to comments she thought he should read – or response videos people did –, and it warmed his heart to know he was making a difference, however small, in people’s lives. 

On December 20st, Tony got to the lab with a bounce in his step. He had a full day ahead of him and he was looking forward to all of it.

“Friday, get the camera ready.”

“Ready, Boss,” she replied.

Tony looked at the camera and smiled – a genuine one, not the press conference smile he had perfected by the time he'd started high school (when he’d been 13 years old).

“Good morning, everyone. Or afternoon or evening, depending on where you all are. Anyway, it’s morning for me here in New York, so hi!” He waved. “And welcome to another edition of Stark’s Amateur Psychology Hour, aka, me talking about random stuff that comes into my head.” After another wide grin, he sobered up. “So, this is… Well, as you might know, Christmas hasn’t been an easy time for me for a long time. Too many shitty memories and unresolved grief and all that. And I’ve always been really good at just shoving it all away and… pretending things were fine. Pretending rather badly, sometimes, but you know, gotta maintain appearances and all that. It’s… complicated. Anyway, this year is going to be different. I’m in a better headspace than I’ve been in years, despite some shitty stuff. And a lot of that has been thanks to you guys. So, thanks. Really. And I wanna do something nice for all of you in return. SI and myself always donate money to various charity organization, especially at this time of year. This time you guys can help me decide where the money goes. I’ll be donating one thousand dollars to a charity or organization of your choice. Obviously they’ll have to be vetted, ‘cause I don’t want to be inadvertently helping Nazis or something.” He grinned ruefully. “The organization can be big or small, global or local, as long as it’s helping people in need and fighting for worthy causes. There will be a link in the video for you to submit your choices. Aside from that, I want to do another video at Christmas, and you get to choose what the content will be – within reason, of course. Let’s not get too crazy, ok? Strictly PG-13,” he added with a smirk. “There will be a pool for that, closing on December 22rd.” He spread his arms. “So, go forth and think about what you’d like to see me talk about or do. And happy holidays for those who celebrate, and happy… well, late December… for those who don’t.”

With a last smile and a nod, Friday ended the video. “Okay, Fri, you know what to do.”

“Sure thing, Boss. I’ll keep you posted on the results.”

“Awesome, thanks.”

Now that his first task of the day was done, he moved on to the next. There were still a few projects he needed to finish, and then he had the SI Christmas party to attend. Later in the evening, he was going to have dinner with Pepper, Rhodey, Happy and Vision.

“Get me some music, Friday.”

Friday selected all his favorites to play, and Tony bounced along, occasionally singing under his breath as he worked. There was a pang of melancholy for Jarvis, who had been his friend and companion for so long. The loss still hurt, of course, yet the overwhelming grief and sense of failure had faded a bit. Tony didn’t want to wallow in misery anymore, and he was sure that Jarvis wouldn’t have wanted him to either. Moving on was hard, but it was necessary. It didn’t mean he forgot; he just needed to focus on what he still had, and on the happy memories of those who had left.

“Boss, the Spiderling is on the phone,” Friday said as he was closing up his files to go get ready for the party.

“Put him through.”

Peter had been a breath of fresh air, and Tony was glad he had gotten a chance to get to know the kid in the past few months. It was yet another reminder that there were a lot of great people out there, people Tony could actually help in many different ways.

There had been a bit of a hurdle when Peter had told his aunt about being Spider-Man – with her, understandably, freaking out – but she’d calmed down eventually. Tony had talked to her, to reassure her that her nephew’s life wasn’t going to be in any more danger if he could help it, and of course he’d apologized for dragging Peter into it in the first place. May Parker had a good head on her shoulders, and Peter was lucky to have someone like her on his corner. If there was one thing Tony had learned lately, was the amazing value of friends who had your back.

“Hey, what’s up, kid?” he said when the image of Peter’s wide grin showed up on his screen.

“Hi, Mr Stark. I was just wondering if I could stop by sometime tomorrow. I mean, if you’re not busy.”

“Of course, Peter. But it’s Christmas break. Don’t you have parties to attend or something?”

“Ah, yeah, sure, but… well… I… hum…”

“What? Something wrong, Peter?”

“No, no… I just wanted to… uhm… give you a Christmas present.” The last was said very quietly while Peter kept his eyes on the floor, as if he was embarrassed. 

Tony was floored. It wasn’t often that he received actual gifts from people, since they all just seemed to assume that, as a billionaire, he didn’t need anything. And while it was true that he didn’t, strictly speaking, need stuff, it was nice to be remembered, to be thought of in that way.

He swallowed a bit – damn, he was really emotional these days – and replied. “That’s really very sweet of you, Peter. Thank you.”

“It’s not… I mean, it’s not a big thing or… you know…”

“I’m sure it’s fine. I’m… I’m touched.” He was. If he didn’t already love the kid, he would now. “So, come by any time.”

The embarrassed look was replaced by a more pleased on. “Okay. I’ll be by tomorrow then. Bye, Mr Stark.”

“See ya, kid.”

Well. It definitely seemed like this was going to be a good Christmas.

*****

The party was fun. Everyone was excited to see him (and their Christmas bonuses), and seemed to having a good time. Usually, Tony got a bit too sloshed at these things (to take the sting off the unpleasant memories), and never stayed for long (and sometimes he didn’t even show up at all). This time, he was all smiles, chatting with people and doing his best to remember everyone.

While he’d always cared about his employees in an abstract sense, he realized he could do with a more personal touch after their overwhelming show of support in the #GetWellSoon videos. It was nice to know he (and the job and benefits he provided) were appreciated – and, more than that, that they liked him as a person, not just a meal ticket. There were people he had regular contact with, of course, the engineers and tech that worked in R&D, and the department heads he saw regularly in staff meetings (the ones he attended, which weren’t many anymore, now that he was no longer CEO), but SI had thousands of employees in all areas that Tony knew nothing about. So he had begun to check in at the offices at the Tower more, talking to anyone he found and trying to learn a bit more about them. After New Year, he was planning to see some of the overseas offices as well. Part of it was in preparation for the new Stark Expo, which was scheduled for June of next year, and part was just an honest desire to just get to know people. Obviously, he wouldn’t be able to meet everyone, but he wanted to make the effort. Happy employees were better employees, after all.

The guys from Accounting were laughing like loons, so Tony went over to see what the fuss was all about. He was treated to a hilarious story about a lost flash drive with important information that had sent the entire department on a scavenger hunt through the Tower (and the surrounding buildings), only to find the thing stuck in one of the computers hours later.

Tony shared a couple of his own amusing exploits while in college and some from his early years as CEO, and everyone seemed to have a good time. He really should do this more often.

A few people also came up to talk to him about the Avengers, telling him he’d done the right thing in ditching those assholes (in those exact words in some cases), and that they felt much better knowing that he (and Iron Man) was still fighting the good fight.

There were people Tony hadn’t had the chance to properly meet, so he made a point of asking their names and departments, and if they were happy working at SI. Of course no one was going to tell him if they weren’t, yet most positive answers seemed genuine enough.

The guys from R&D were really excited about the Expo, and wanted to know if he was working on anything specific for that. Since Tony was always working on a dozen things at any given time, he figured he would probably have something cool to show when the Expo opened. He might not know what it was yet, but there would be something. The last time, he’d been too sick and too consumed with finding a cure for the palladium to really have much to do with the Expo personally. He’d given the opening speech, and then pretty much left it for Pepper and the department heads. It would be nice to have another opportunity to do a little dazzling.

“I can’t wait to see it, Mr Stark, whatever it is,” one of the newest additions to the team said. Shannon Oliver was a gifted coder, and Tony had enjoyed working with her on a couple of things already. He loved getting young people who were really enthusiastic about the stuff they did, and Shannon was just that.

Tony ended up staying much longer than he usually did, and he had a blast (and no drinking necessary). The office parties tended to be more casual than the stiff one for the Board, and thus much more entertaining. After this, he was definitely not looking forward to the latter. He’d make a quick appearance and then go do something he actually enjoyed. Tony had had quite enough of being miserable.

*****

To top off a pretty great day, Tony had his friends over for dinner, and they all had a great time. Vision was still a little shy around the others, but he was starting to come out of his shell. Poor guy had not had the easiest of times hanging out with those ungrateful bastards that were the former Avengers, and he was still getting over Maximoff. He said he no longer felt any affection for her; however, the betrayal he’d felt at her actions – and her complete lack of regard for him – was still lurking about.

Tony and Rhodey were doing their best to keep Vision’s spirits up, and help him engage with the world in a healthier way. So far, it seemed to be working.

“So, Tones, I hear your latest video is trending again,” Rhodey said, sipping his wine. Rhodey was more a beer than wine guy, but Tony had persuaded him to try this one. It was, of course, excellent.

“Yeah, well… People are fascinated by celebrities.” 

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Pepper began, “that Rhodey and Vision should do something too. It’s been excellent PR, and we could do with a bit more of that. Tony is already well-known, but the two of you aren’t, not yet. We want the New Avengers to have a more positive media image, and this is a good way to go about it.”

Vision looked a bit uncomfortable by the idea, so Tony gave him an encouraging smile. “It’s a good idea, Pep. And maybe you guys can do one with me to start with. Take the pressure off. We can do a kind of Q&A, selecting the questions beforehand so you can prepare. It will help give the people a better grasp of who you are.”

“Yeah, I guess I can do that. I do like the videos, Tony. They’re fun.”

“Aw, Platypus, you actually watch them? I’m touched.” He really had no idea about that. It wasn’t like Tony said anything that would be news to Rhodey – or that Rhodey couldn’t just call him or visit, and speak to him in person if he wanted to.

“Of course I do. I haven’t watched the one from this morning yet, though, but I’m looking forward to it.” Rhodey smiled. “And if I do it, I could tell a few stories from our college days. Keep it fun and not just Avenger-related.”

“Awesome!” Tony turned to Vision. “What do you think, Viz?”

“I’m not sure how much… fun… I will be.”

“I’m sure you’ll do just fine. Besides, it’s not live. We can do some tests to find a tone you’re comfortable with.”

They hashed out a few more ideas on it, and Tony found himself excited at the prospect. He was used to doing press conferences and official appearances, but the videos were much more informal and relaxed. Not that he never cracked jokes in official stuff, because he did – he was known for not taking anything too seriously, after all. The videos were different, though – and reached a much wider audience, and Tony realized he wanted to share it with his friends.

The conversation drifted to other things, including the ongoing work on the Accords and their quest to find new Avenger members, and further holiday plans. Rhodey was going to visit his parents and invited Tony and Pepper to drop by after Christmas.

“Mom really wants to see you, Tones. She says she misses you.”

“Sure, sounds great.”

The Rhodes had always been nice to him, from the very first Thanksgiving Tony showed up for. He had intended to stay on campus when his mother told him that she and Howard were going on a business trip, but Rhodey wouldn’t hear of it, and had dragged Tony home with him. The first couple of hours had been awkward, then Tony had relaxed and actually enjoyed himself. From then on he’d had a standing invitation, which he had often made use of, especially after his parents had died and he couldn’t stand being in the mansion alone. 

“You’re going to see your mom, Happy?” Tony asked. He had met Mrs Hogan a few of times, and she was a hoot. She always spoke her mind (and sharply, if she thought it was necessary), and had an acerbic sense of humor that Tony really appreciated. Not a woman who suffered fools, that was for sure.

“You’ll be okay if I go?” Happy said, a slight frown on his face. Happy tended to stick with him during the holidays, to keep Tony from going off the rails too much; he would visit his mother after New Year’s, when Tony was in a better frame of mind and less likely to do something reckless. Tony rarely actually said the words, but he had always been grateful for Happy’s solid and reliable presence.

“I’ll be fine, Hap.” He took Pepper’s hand. “We’ll be fine,” he corrected.

Happy nodded, a pleased grin on his face.

“Hey, Viz, you can come with me to see my folks, if you want,” Rhodey said. “They’d love to meet you.”

Vision nodded shyly, and that was settled. 

Tony and Pepper’s plans were to stay in New York for Christmas. Pepper’s mother had passed away a couple of years after she started working at SI, so she usually spend the holidays with a few cousins she was close to or with friends. 

Since they had begun a relationship, though, Christmas had been a bit of a weird time. First, it had been Killian and their house being blown up – and Tony being thought dead for a little while there. Not to mention Pepper being injected with Extremis and Tony having to fix that. Then the insanity of the Info Dump and its aftermath, which had kept Tony busy for months, before the Avengers had gotten together again to search for the scepter (which, in hindsight, had been a terrible idea). And then Wanda’s mind whammy had fucked him up even more than he already was, having never really gotten a chance to deal with the other myriad of traumas he’d experienced before the clusterfuck that was Ultron and all of that. Now, finally, Tony had put most of that crap behind him and was ready to actually celebrate something. 

And it was going to be awesome. Just Tony and Pepper enjoying themselves. No work (well, not too much work; they were both far too much of workaholics to put it aside completely), no worries; just quality time together.

“I wonder what those idiots are doing now,” Rhodey said after a lull in the conversation. No one had to ask who he meant.

Truthfully, Tony hadn’t really thought about the ExVengers for quite some time (not as more than a passing thought, at least). It was… incredibly liberating. He could honestly said that he did not care where they were and what they were doing, as long as they weren’t blowing shit up and causing death and destruction. Of course, he knew he would have to deal with them as some point – they were still wanted criminals, after all, and very dangerous – but there was a whole system in place now to handle that. It wasn’t on Tony’s shoulders. It wasn’t his responsibility. He was free on them in an emotional sense.

All those years trying (and failing) to live up so some crazy ideal, of worrying himself to death and managing everything without any thanks or acknowledgement, of walking on egg shells around them without really knowing why, the discomfort he’d felt in their present that he pushed through because he thought he needed to. All of that was a thing of the past. Whatever they did from now on, it had nothing more to do with him. They had dug their own graves and Tony wasn’t going to lift a finger to save them; on the contrary, he was looking forward to the chance to push them in when the time finally came.

He wasn’t plotting revenge because he had better things to do with his time. He was simply done with them. The anger hadn’t disappeared, of course, but it didn’t consume him. They did not get to take any more from him that they already had. They didn’t deserve his attention. Tony had been ready to destroy them before, until he’d realized that that was still giving them far too much power. He didn’t have to worry about it; sooner or later they would be caught, and they would get what was coming to them. Tony didn’t have to spend his time and energy with any of it, and he loved the freedom of just not giving a shit. Indifference was simply… wonderful.

“Don’t know and don’t care,” Tony replied. He couldn’t even be bothered to imagine what might be going on with them.

“Yeah. Let’s not waste our time with them,” Happy added.

Pepper, Tony could tell, was not quite as indifferent as him. She still harbored some revenge fantasies, he knew, and Tony couldn’t help a little thrill at that. It was nice to have someone fight for him for a change. And Pepper fighting was a thing of beauty. It would be a sight to see when she finally caught up to them, and Tony was really looking forward to it.

Now, however, he had better plans.

“Who are we even talking about?” he asked, curling up beside Pepper and getting a soft smile in return.

“No one important,” she said.

Yeah. All the important people were right here.

*****

The next morning, Peter came by the lab. He was carrying a brightly wrapped gift with a sheepish (and slightly embarrassed) expression. 

“Hey, kid, come on in,” Tony said, trying to tamp down his excitement for the gift. The kid was already anxious, there was no need to make him even more so. But damn, Tony was psyched. Was this how normal people felt at Christmas? It was nice.

“Hi, Mr Stark. Merry Christmas. I mean, I know it’s not Christmas yet, but you’ll probably be busy later with… stuff, so I wanted to come by to… uhm.”

When it looked like the kid’s nerves had gotten the better of him, Tony stepped in. “Merry Christmas, Peter. This is for you.” He picked up the little box from the table and handed to him.

“Oh… Mr Stark, you didn’t have to get me anything.” He eyed the packet as if it was the most precious thing in the world.

“Well, you didn’t have to get me anything either, but… Well, that’s what friends do, isn’t it?” Tony liked having friends. He had not properly appreciated his in the past, and was determined to do better. And Peter was an amazing kid, he deserved all the best things. “Come on, open it.”

Peter put his own gift on the table for the moment and opened the box. The second he saw what was inside he let out a shriek of excitement.

“Oh my god, is this the new StarkPhone? The one that’s just come out?” He brought the phone up to his face and gazed lovingly at it.

“Nope, that’s a special one. It’s a specific model just for you. It’s got a direct connection to Friday and Karen in case of emergency and a bunch of stuff I thought you might like.”

Peter’s eyes got even wider. “You… you made this for me? Like, specifically?”

“Yep. Custom made. Better processing power and storage capacity, top notch security, voice activation that really works, all the perks.”

“Oh my god. Oh my god.” Then he launched himself at Tony in a hug that almost toppled them both to the ground. “Thank you! Thank you!”

Tony laughed and patted the kid on the back. “You’re welcome.”

Peter babbled a bit more as Tony got him to active the phone, get his fingerprint id set up and unlock all the features. The boy was almost bouncing in place, and Tony smiled to himself. 

Building things was his favorite thing to do, so it was nice to be able to do it for someone who actually appreciated not just the thing itself but the time and effort that went into it in the first place. Not that it had taken Tony all that long to work on it – it was a watered down version of his own custom made model, after all. Still, his time was valuable and he could have used it for other things. The former Avenger had taken for granted that Tony would do things for them for free, but Peter – who was only a kid – knew better.

“I know you'll take good care of this and use it responsibly,” Tony said, and the kid nodded enthusiastically.

“Thank you so much, Mr Stark. You're the best!” Peter gave him another hug and a brilliant smile.

Despite popular opinion, Tony actually liked kids – at least nice ones – and hanging out with Peter had been great these past few months. It was enough to make him reconsider his stance on never having kids of his own. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad after all, provided Pepper was on board with the idea. He was certainly feeling much more up to the challenge these days.

“So, what have you got for me, Peter?” Tony asked, unable to take the suspense anymore.

If Tony thought Peter looked nervous before, it was nothing on the way the kid was almost shaking now.

“It’s not… I mean… You gave me this amazing phone and…”

“Hey, it doesn’t matter if it's big or expensive. I don’t care about that, you know.” He decided to be honest. “Thing is, I rarely actually get gifts, let alone for Christmas, so for me it's enough that you even went to the trouble.”

“Oh. Okay.” Tony was pleased to see that some of the tension had left the kid's shoulders. “So, uhm… here.” Peter picked the package up and presented to him, only a little shyly now.

Normally, Tony didn’t like being handed things. He didn’t even remember when or how this aversion had begun, but it had been there for a while. Yet with Peter he didn’t feel the usual anxiety. Tony knew the kid – and more than that, he trusted him. Funny how he had never actually trusted any of the former Avengers, even if he had not quite realized that at the time.

Tony inspected the box. It was almost square, not very big but not very small either. The wrapping paper had little Santas and other Christmas-themed images all over it. A bit on the garish side, but Tony liked it. It had personality, at least. 

With a grin, he began removing the wrapping, eager to find out what was inside. 

It was a box. A plain cardboard box. Tony put it on the top of the workshop and opened it.

Inside it was a coffee mug. But it wasn’t an ordinary one. It had a customized picture printed on it.

Tony smiled, remembering when this had been taken. It has been about a month ago. Tony and Peter had been in the lab working on upgrades to the kid's webshooters – while Tony had been impressed with the original design, there was still room for improvement – and as usual there was music blaring in the background. Peter seemed to be more of a pop kind of guy, so he wasn’t all that familiar with the heavy metal songs Tony often played. This time, though, a song he had actually known came on, and the kid had started to sing. Pretty soon Tony was singing too; the two of them rocking it out like a pair of loons who knew how to have fun. The photo captured a moment when they were not just singing but also playing air guitar, big smiles on their faces. Beneath the picture, in Iron Man red and gold colors, was written: Best superhero ever.

It was absolutely perfect.

“This is awesome, Peter! I love it!” He grinned and hugged the kid.

“Really?”

“Of course. It's great. It's going to be my new mug.”

“Friday helped me with the picture,” Peter said, much more relaxed now the gift had been well received.

“Yeah, I figured that. That was a fun day.”

“It was amazing, Mr Stark. I really want to thank you for every thing you've done for me, even though I'm not Spider-Man anymore. I mean, you didn’t have to bother with me after that. I know you've got a lot to do and important jobs and all that.”

“Peter, you're not a bother. You're a great kid and I have loved getting to know you and working with you. It doesn’t matter if you’re Spider-Man or not. It's been a privilege.” Now the kid was blushing and on the verge of tears, so Tony gave him another hug. “Thanks for being you, and for the really sweet gift.”

There was a bit more conversation after that, then Peter went home to help his aunt with Christmas preparations.

Tony spent a while longer in the lab working, a goofy smile on his face whenever he saw his new coffee mug.

*****

Pepper loved the mug too when he showed it to her later that day. She had met Peter a few times, and thought he was a great kid.

“He's good for you,” she told him, and Tony had to agree.

“Maybe one day we could have one of our own,” he said in a casual tone. They had never discussed kids – or even marriage, for that matter. Perhaps it was time to have those kinds of conversations.

“I thought you didn’t want kids,” she replied, looking at him in a way he couldn’t read.

Tony shrugged. “I didn’t. But maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. If that's something you’d be interested in.” He realized then that he honestly had no idea what Pepper's feeling on the issue were. He couldn’t recall ever hearing her say she wanted kids, and he couldn’t recall her saying she didn’t either. 

Her expression turned thoughtful. “Maybe. But that's a topic for another time. I have other plans for now.” She walked up to him with a sexy swagger and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Plans that involve a bed and a lot less clothes.”

God, Tony loved this side of her, the playful sexy side.

“That sounds like an awesome plan.”

The rest of the evening was spent mostly in bed – with a few short pauses for food. They weren’t quite young enough for a sex marathon, nor did they need it. Slow and gentle was perfect, with lots of talking and cuddling. It was great to be on the same page with her after all those weird years of not really getting it right despite wanting to.

They would figure things out now, he was sure.

“I love you, Pep.” It was important to say the words, so he had been making an effort. Surprisingly – or maybe not – it got easier every time. The anxiety he used to feel in every emotional conversation was fading, and he felt more settled. Into his own skin, in his relationships, in his place in the world, and it was a wonderful feeling.

“I love you too.”

He smiled and kissed her again.

Hearing the words and believing them was great too. He didn’t have to prove anything to anyone, jump through any hoops or twist himself into someone else to be loved. He could just be himself and that was good enough. It was all he needed to be.

He fell asleep in complete contentment.

*****

The morning of the 23rd found Tony back in the lab checking out the list of organizations he would be donating money to this year. Most of the ones nominated Tony had never heard about, since they seemed to be local. Animal shelters, youth outreach programs and social rights groups were the most prevalent, as well as organizations for veteran support. Good causes, Tony thought, glad he would be able to help people who probably didn’t get a lot of funding.

“So, Fri, how’s the pool going?”

He hadn’t given much thought to what his Christmas video was going to be, busy with other things, but now he was curious.

“As of now, the winning choice is for you to sing, Boss.”

Tony paused what he was doing. “Sing? Seriously?”

“It seems someone found a video of you singing at an SI party several years ago and now they want a repeat performance.”

“I sang at an SI party?” It didn’t sound like something he would do. Unless he was drunk, of course – which he probably was. It wasn’t that he didn’t like to sing, but he usually just did it in the lab as he worked. Not that he was ashamed, though – there was very little that could embarrass him, really – it was just… weird.

“Do you want to see the video? It’s been going around.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Ignoring what he had been doing, Tony turned his attention to the screen Friday projected. Yep, that was him. And yep, he was drunk. Not drunk enough that he was slurring his words, just drunk enough to think that singing was a good idea, apparently.

“General consensus is that you’re pretty good,” Friday said. “For someone clearly drunk,” she added after a slight beat. Tony was really proud of how much Friday had been learning. She had come a long way since being activated, sounding more natural every day.

Tony had a lot of talents, but he’d never thought that singing was one of them. Still, it really wasn’t that bad, all things considered. He didn’t make a fool of himself, at least – though why he chose _My Heart Will Go On_ , of all songs, was a bit of a mystery. Probably because it had been highly popular at the time. It certainly wasn’t the kind of song he usually liked. Or maybe someone had suggested it. He honestly couldn’t remember what the hell had led to that.

“So that’s really the winning option?” he said once the video had ended, still unsure what the hell had been going on there. He couldn’t even tell when the video had been recorded, though it would be easy enough to check. Well, it wasn’t like it really mattered. In the grand scheme of things, he had done a lot of worse things in public which had been captured on film. Like, a lot. Ah, those days of youthful stupidity. He liked to think he'd come a long way since then too.

“Yep. 53% of votes for that at the moment. I guess folks are curious how you’ll do when you’re actually sober,” she said in a dry tone.

Tony had to chuckle. “Well, I guess I’m curious too, now. But I am not singing _My Heart Will Go On_ again. Are there suggestions on what I should sing?”

“Oh, yeah. There’s a pretty long list of suggestions in the comment section of your last video. I’ll compile the highlights for you.” There was definite amusement in Friday’s voice, and Tony found himself smiling too.

This was really not what he’d expected people to choose, but what the hell. It might be fun. And even if he sucked, well… who cared? He'd been judged harshly for far worst crimes than bad singing.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. It seemed like forever since he’d just done silly things for fun. Life had been so serious and anxiety-inducing in the past few years that he’d forgotten that it didn’t have to be all gloomy and depressing all the time. That he didn’t have to think about doomsday scenarios every day. Doing the videos had already proven that just getting his mind off ‘superhero stuff’ for a little while did wonders for his mental health. Add to that a closer relationship with his friends and Pepper, and he was feeling pretty good overall. So why not sing and enjoy himself? Plus it would make the people who were voting for it happy too. Win all around.

“All right, Fri. Let's chose a song. Well, a couple of them at least.”

“Do you want me to include the Christmas-themed songs that have been suggested?”

“Sure. I mean, it is Christmas.”

Since he wouldn’t have a lot of rehearsal time, it had to be songs he already knew, which eliminated a lot of the more pop-like suggestions people had made. Tony knew the most famous pop songs, of course – the ones that one had to be living under a rock not to have at least heard of – but that was mostly it. There were a few contemporary artists and groups he was into, though he was more into the stuff he listened when he was younger. After some debate with Friday, he called Pepper to help him decide. He also figured she would want to be present to witness the recording of it.

She thought it was a great idea – though sadly she shot down his proposal of a duet – and went over their pre-selection with the same focus she gave to important business decisions.

“For the holiday song you have to do _White Christmas_. It's a classic,” she said.

“Yeah, but that means a lot of really great people have done it. I'll look like a shmuck.” He didn’t care, exactly, yet now that he was hyped up to do this, he wanted to do it well as a matter of pride.

“Why don’t you try, and we’ll see how it goes. If you don’t like it, we'll chose something else.”

Tony loved that she said ‘we' as if it was a joint project now. He was excited and it was nice to share that excitement with her.

“All right. Fri, give me the lyrics, just in case.” He was pretty sure he knew the words, but it wouldn’t hurt to get a refresher.

It took four tries for him to be satisfied with how he was doing it. If he’d had more time he could have made a production of it, get some people to actually play along and all that. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen now, and he would just have to do it a capella.

“Ok, Fri. Start recording.”

Pepper stepped out of the line of sight of the camera but stayed close, smiling encouragement from the other side of the table as he sang.

The first take wasn’t great, so Tony did it again. It was better but not quite up to his perfectionist standards. The third was good, with room for improvement. Fourth ended up being the winning take.

They decided to break for lunch before tackling the rest, and had a great time considering the possibilities as they finally narrowed down the choices to five songs. Pepper was happy to postpone the work she had planned on doing that afternoon to be there with him.

By the end of the afternoon, he had recorded two more songs, one more serious and another in a more playful style. All in all, he was quite satisfied with the results. Pepper also thought he did great, which led to some fun celebration in the bedroom later in the evening.

The next morning, Pepper accompanied him to the lab for the video recording.

“Hey, everyone. Merry Christmas! So, I want to thank everyone who submitted organizations to receive donations. We'll be processing those in the next few days. I also want to thank you for all the cool suggestions for this special edition of Tony Stark Makes a Video. The winning vote was for singing, which I actually really enjoyed. I hope you guys will too. It's great to do things just for fun, and even more so to have people to share it with, even if only through social media. Best of luck to everyone of you out there, your families and loved ones. And if you’re going through a hard time, hang in there. Reach out to those you love and trust, because things can get better.”

He smiled brightly and gestured for Friday to cut. Then he helped her edit everything together and posted the video.

Things really were going wonderfully this year. He could only hope that the next ones would be the same.

*****

Christmas Eve and Day were spent with Pepper, with calls to their friends to check in and wish good holiday cheers. They got started on their conversation about the future, and it made Tony feel even more optimistic about it all. 

The gloom he usually had around this time was completely absent, replaced by nothing but joy.

The response to his Christmas video was even better than he had imagined, and he was flooded with messages of support and appreciation. It became a trending topic on all social medias and made the news as well in an actually positive way. After the disaster of the last few years, people seemed to be getting back to trusting in a better future.

There would be more hardships ahead, no doubt, yet he knew he was going to be fine. He had friends and family standing by him.

What more could a guy ask for?

**Author's Note:**

> I know that RDJ has actually recorded an album and all. Unfortunately, without a decent internet I couldn’t do any research on it. I might come back and specify the songs once I get my internet back.
> 
> ETA: I'll probably do more with the singing in later installments, so I'll get into more details about songs then.


End file.
